As a teacher or scripture, I feel it must be stated here and now, there is no way to compromise with evolutionary geology by explaining the flood to be a local event and not a worldwide event. The Bible is very explicit in how the events are recorded. Some Christians want to believe this flood was mainly regional and not a world-covering flood. But to do so, there are details that have to be ignored.

Speaker: Mike NobisSunday School Teacher, Former Elder at Madison Park Christian Church. Mike is President of JK Creative Printers & Mailing in Quincy, IL. He is married to Pam and has three children, Tom, Tyler and Jennifer. Mike has three grandchildren: Ryne, Ivy and Alicia.

I said many times in this study that if the events described in the first 11 chapters of Genesis are not historical fact, then Christianity has a major problem. The writers of the Bible treat these events as historical events to be remembered, considered and in many cases, used to explain some of the promises and blessings we as Christians today have and depend on. There is no question that Satan is at work to convince the world that what took place is nothing more than legend, made up stories or the events are just allegories. Destroy the first 11 chapters in Genesis, the Bible can’t stand thus there is not Word of God, in fact, there then is no God at all.

The same is true with Noah and the Great Flood. In fact, the Great Flood is a pivotal issue in the entire conflict between Christianity and anti-Christianity. If the principle of evolutionary development can fully explain the universe and all its inhabitants then there is no need for a Creator. Here is the important fact we must know and understand about the theory of Evolution, the chief evidence is the geological record of billions of years of earth history. This history is documented by the fossils entombed in the sedimentary rocks of the earth’s crust. The bottom line to this theory is this:

There is no room in this framework of interpretation for a world-destroying flood.

Is the conflict between creation and evolution a fight over the facts or is there something much deeper that prevents even some believing Christians to accept that the Flood actually happened as recorded in Genesis? The account of the Great Flood testifies to the awfulness of sin and the reality of divine reckoning is so unwelcome that men have tried for ages to somehow explain it away or forget it all together.

What about Christianity, are we the same way? Do we wish the flood wasn’t real? Do we often act as though there isn’t an urgency to quit sinning and focus on a righteous lifestyle through the power of the Holy Spirit?

As a teacher or scripture, I feel it must be stated here and now, there is no way to compromise with evolutionary geology by explaining the flood to be a local event and not a worldwide event. The Bible is very explicit in how the events are recorded. Some Christians want to believe this flood was mainly regional and not a world-covering flood. But to do so, there are details that have to be ignored.

Genesis 7:17-20 (NKJV) Now the flood was (or was coming) on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.

Here are some facts from the account in the Bible that Christians have to wish away. But the account is very explicit that the Great Flood was a worldwide event.

• More than 30 times in Genesis does the expression of a global flood occur
• In verse 17, the word “was” in the Hebrew is “was coming”. This flood continued to come for 40 days and night.
• The waters rose very quickly, enough to lift the Ark in the early stages of the flood. Because of the size and weight of the Ark, the depth had to be at least 20 feet high, way higher than a regional flood could produce.

Wait a minute, 20 feet can be produced by a flood. In 1993 the flood in Quincy was well over 20 feet. The river stage in Quincy when the level broke was almost 33 feet. How do you explain that?

• The rains “prevailed”, a word that literally means were “overwhelmingly mighty”. The Flood didn’t just come, it kept coming with more and more water and didn’t stop. Job refers to the greatness of God and uses a fact from the Great Flood.

Job 12:14-15 (NKJV) If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release. If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.

• Here is what is funny to me; if the flood was a local flood as some Christians believe, then the massive construction of the Ark and the gathering of the animals was an absurd waste of time. Migration would have been a better solution to the problem, for Noah and the animals. Under the Great Flood, there was nowhere to escape, nowhere to go to escape its wrath.

• The waters covered all the high hills and mountains. The mountain “Ararat”, which is where the Ark eventually settles is just over 16,854 feet high. That is today’s height. We don’t know what its original height was before the flood. A 17,000 ft. flood is not a local or regional flood. Today, there are mountains much higher than Ararat. Pikes Peak is only 14,114 ft. high. Mt. Everest is 29,322. The Flood was 15 cubits higher than the tallest mountain. 15 cubits is half the height of the ark which means that the Flood allowed the Ark to freely float over the whole earth without touching land.

Genesis 7:21-23 (NKJV) And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.

Today, what instructions are we given when a flood is coming? Move to higher ground. But what happens if the entire world is covered with water, where does a person go? Something else was also destroyed, what was it?

The answer is in verse 23. The NIV states “all living things”. In the Hebrew this phrase is only one word, “yequm” or substance. The flood wiped out all plant life as well as man and the animals. Basically, the earth was totally wiped clean of any life that God originally created. Do you remember what God said about His plan?

Genesis 6:17 (NKJV) … everything that is on the earth shall die.

True or False: The Flood waters came for 40 days and 40 nights. False!

Genesis 7:24 (NKJV) And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.

Again, here is that word again, “prevailed”. Yes it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, but the flood waters kept coming for 150 days. Remember there were two sources of water for the flood, the fountains of the deep and the 40 days and nights of rain from the sky. The waters didn’t cease to rise after the 40 days, it kept coming and did so for 150 days.

What is astounding to me is how some Bible believing Christians can say or try to explain that this flood was a local or regional flood. In Genesis 8, once the Ark grounded on the highest of the mountains of Ararat, it still took 2½ months before the other mountains around it could be seen. It was over an entire year before enough land was exposed to permit Noah, his family and the animals to leave the Ark and start over on the earth. A local flood or regional flood doesn’t do that.

We just touched on some of the reasons why the flood was a worldwide flood and not a local flood. But there are some other reasons to consider as we look into other places in the Bible:

• God promises never again to send such a flood on the earth. If the Great Flood was only a local or regional flood, then what does that say about God and His promises?
• In the Old Testament, the word for the Flood was only used to reference the Great Flood. There were other words used for the basic concept of floods or flooding. The same is true in the New Testament. It is the word today we use, “catastrophe”.
• New changes happened to the weather of the planet. There were now sharply defined seasons, rainbows with the rain that now becomes a regular occurrence on the earth.
• There is a change between man and animals. Man was given permission to eat animals as a part of his diet.
• The life span of man starts to become radically shorter than in the times before the flood.
• The Biblical writers accepted the universal Flood as fact and used it to prove the will of God.
• Most importantly, Jesus accepted the historical and universal facts of the Flood; and why not, He was the one who brought it on. Also, it was Jesus who used the Flood as a sign or type of another world wide judgment to come when He returns.

Matthew 24:36-39 (NKJV) "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Last week we talked about the date of the Great Flood, It came in the 600th year of Noah, 2nd month, 17th day. As I noted then, the actual date isn’t important, what is important that that day did come. The Flood did come and the judgment from God did play out. Jesus said the same thing in Matthew. There is a day set for when Jesus will return. We don’t know the exact date, in fact, that date is not important. What is important is that a day has been set and just like in the days of Noah, the promise will be kept and Jesus will return. Will you be ready?

Matthew 24:40-44 (NKJV) Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

How many of you have protection against someone stealing your stuff?

Home invasion stats:
• Home burglaries happen every 15 seconds in the U.S.
• Most intruders come through the front door.
• In the U.S. 1 in every 5 home will be victimized by a violent home invasion.

Identity Theft stats:
• 16.3 million people are victims to ID theft each year
• 85% of those victimized had their personal information stolen
• 14% of those victimized experienced some kind of out of pocket loss
• 29% of those victimized experienced a month or more to resolve the problem

Think about what or how far we will go to keep thieves away. You don’t know when or who will come and try t steal from you but many are ready for when it happens. Do we have the same attitude about being ready and watching out for when Jesus will return?